Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Well, I encourage you to do so, Minister. It is fantastic. But it is viewers that we are concerned about here. It is about their capacity to enjoy better television. What is the point of saying, ‘We’re just going to switch off regardless,’ if 25 or 30 per cent of the viewers in a particular area do not have the equivalent and are not able to receive a signal?

In some ways we are trying to save the government from itself. This will be a calamity for the minister and for his government if there is an unsuccessful switch-over in a particular area. I can assure the minister that in regional South Australia, which is also targeted for switch-off before the next federal election, if those in some 25 per cent of a particular area are not ready to receive digital TV, this will be a calamity for the Labor Party which we will exploit to the hilt, so I give notice of that. So in some ways we are trying to save the government from itself.

We do think that it is perfectly reasonable, proper and appropriate, in the interests of public accountability, for the government to indicate that—and to be so required by virtue of our amendments—it will establish the preconditions for switch-over in a particular area. We are not being as prescriptive as Free TV; we do accept that, while we support the sentiment of Free TV’s approach, we are not seeking to be as prescriptive as they were. We are really saying to the government that it ought to have, as a matter of course, some criteria which it believes need to be observed before a switch-over actually takes place, that these criteria should be published and that measures should be put in place to ensure that any particular region meets those criteria. Where it is clear that they do not, the government should indicate how it is going to get to the level of readiness that we believe the government should set in place.

In many ways these amendments are about requiring the government to take the actions that are necessary to ensure that a region is ready. If the government has, by virtue of these amendments, a requirement to meet certain readiness criteria, then the government will have the incentive to make sure that a region is ready. Otherwise there is no incentive whatsoever for the government to do so and the government can just carte blanche turn off an area without anyone having recourse except perhaps by the political consequences. I wonder whether those opposite are even concerned about that. We have noted that most of the region has been put off into the next term, when, as I pray, we will be in government in any event. But we think there should be an incentive in this bill for the government to take the requisite action.

As I said in my speech in the second reading debate, it will be incumbent on the government to provide in the next budget funding to ensure that disadvantaged Australians have financial assistance to acquire the relevant equipment and that there is financial provision for self-help transmitters, particularly in regional and rural Australia, which the government is targeting as the first area to lose the analog signal. So we believe these amendments will help to provide the incentives that the government should have itself to ensure that regions are ready. Otherwise, in the absence of our amendments, so in the absence of support for these amendments, there is no incentive whatsoever for the government. It can just simply do the switch-off.

As I have said, the bottom line here is that we are being expected to take the government on trust in relation to this switch-over. We are not prepared to do that. We do not think that is appropriate. We think that the consumers, the viewers, of TV signals are what matter here, not just a headlong rush to switch over regardless. We do accept the rationale that you do have to have a timetable, as it is human nature—and I accept this—that unless there is a deadline people will be reluctant. But these amendments put the onus on the government, on the regional and rural broadcasters, on the commercial broadcasters and on the national broadcasters to ensure that they maximise the take-up. I was with the minister at the launch, and I think the broadcasters are putting a huge effort in and I commend them for it. But it is also incumbent on the government to encourage the take-up. We believe that our amendments will ensure that the government has the requisite incentives to maximise the take-up and to make sure regions are ready, because certainly I for one—and I speak for the opposition—do not want to see a switch-over occur with thousands upon thousands of Australians completely losing their television reception. There is a very real risk of that happening if our amendments are not passed.